Hour Glass Inn, Exeter

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Quinno _ left this review about Hour Glass Inn

A cold and soggy revisit during the storms. Five on, all local ales - Exeter Ferryman, Avocet, Dorset Knob, Black Tor DPA and Stout. Both of mine were fine but not quite top notch and prices are now notably high. Very busy on Saturday evening and we were fortunate to get a seat. Does seem to be a place which attracts upper middle class oddballs, this time it was some woman with a pocket dog asking 20 questions about every food item on the menu. Personally I’d have told her to get stuffed, the barman had the patience of a saint. Still a good pub that’s worth the extra few minutes’ walk to sample. Not quite the heights of Winter 2014 though.

February 2014
A traditional backstreet local but only a few minutes walk from the immediate city centre or two minutes uphill from the quayside. An attractive, rounded-corner building tucked away in the tightly-knit backstreets. The unique pub sign hints at good things to come. Inside is a lovely wooden interior with stripped floors, island bar and wooden perch seating. ‘City Brewery Ales’ (who they?) etched across some of the windows. Items of interest over the two rooms included a fez-wearing bust, Mexico ‘70 mirror, old wooden barrels atop the bar and an indoor creeper plant. The rarefied ambience was supplemented by some wartime-era background music. Five ales available: Bath Gem, Otter Bitter, Exeter’s Ferryman and Avocet and Lyme Regis Black Ven. I tried the Ferryman and Black Ven and both were in impressive shape. Food is offered and looked impressive. Exeter is quite an upmarket place but the punters in here were even posher than usual, with one couple planning a wedding where "Hugo can bring some guns and after we can go on a shoot in the grounds". Still, it's a lovely pub and should be pretty much at the top of the Exeter visit list. Beware that it closes afternoons. Rated 9

On 1^st December 2016 - rating: 8
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